HELP Taper Time and Thinking Too Much

Notice the new Brooks logo. My race shirt/uniform unfortunately will not be here in time for the Green Bay marathon. I haven’t decided exactly which shirt/singlet I’ll be wearing but it will have some kind of anti-Viking logo which should get me some extra cheers in Packerland.

One week left before race day. It’s Saturday morning and there is no run scheduled. What’s that all about? There is a joke among marathoners that says, “I train for marathons just so I can taper.” The reduction always comes as a shock to the system. Energy returns. I am no longer zapped and ready for bed at 9 PM. The runs that are scheduled seem too easy. My legs have started pushing marathon pace this week and I have to force myself to run slower. Here are my latest workouts:

DateMileTimePace05/06/11 5.1m 00:41 8:06

05/04/11 8m 01:07 8:26 Includes 2 x 1600M @ 6:52 and 6:55

05/03/11 7m 01:00 8:34

05/01/11 16m 02:20 8:45

04/30/11 6.25m 00:50 8:03

04/29/11 4m 00:33 8:07

Too much time to think has been my problem. Worrying that I can hold an 8 minute pace for the 26.2. But my favorite podcast MarathonTalk, recently addressed the issue of doubt. They advised to look back at your top 5 workouts during training. It’s great advice. I have done two long runs of 22 miles without a problem. A 10m race at a 7:21 pace. Shorts runs that feel easy at marathon pace. All statistical data and logic tells me I’m ready to get the elusive 3:30 marathon time.

The race cannot come fast enough now. Even the advanced weather forecast has a high of 60F and a low of 41F with a 30% chance of rain. Scary how everything is falling into place. I’m excited and anxious knowing that friends, family and virtual running partners will all be seeing how my race turns out. It will be added incentive during any rough patches during the race.

The Green Bay race is not as large as I first thought as there are only 5000 marathoners. Half marathoners and marathoners share the 12 miles or so. I have a really low bib number which I take as a good sign. There are no corrals that I am aware of so I need to find out how the start is lined up. I was also made aware of a potential logjam entering the players tunnel of Lambeau Field. It is now single file because a couple of years ago a marathoner advised me he was blocked by three really large women half marathoners holding hands. If there was a choice between losing a BQ and plowing through the people, he would be plowing through the women. Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that.

Text Widget

This is a text widget. The Text Widget allows you to add text or HTML to your sidebar. You can use a text widget to display text, links, images, HTML, or a combination of these. Edit them in the Widget section of the Customizer.